Contents
Machine learning, artificial intelligence, science, technology, and engineering surround us in all areas of society today. With the ever-increasing speed and pace at which new technologies are developed, it is incumbent upon Christians to develop a detailed biblical understanding of these topics. Some literature has begun addressing the ethics of how technologies like artificial intelligence are to be used, but hardly any literature exists addressing the epistemology (the nature of knowledge and trust) of these technologies. We must come to a biblical understanding of how they work, what is possible for them to do, and what the distinctly Christian foundation is for each of these technologies.
What is a distinctly Christian epistemology and how can we bring that to bear on developing a distinctly Christian epistemology of machine learning? What level of trust should we put in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and deep learning methods for providing information or for implementing autonomous systems? Given this distinctly Christian epistemology of machine learning, are there areas in which we should or should not implement machine learning?
What does it mean to be human, made in God’s image? What are the practical ways that being made in God’s image distinguishes people from machines and artificial general intelligence? Could God have ultimately chosen to communicate through artificial intelligence in writing the Bible instead of humans? How does the notion of correlation versus causation in artificial intelligence help us distinguish AI from humans?
What is the nature of emergent properties? From a Christian standpoint, are they possible? Are consciousness and intelligence emergent properties? Is artificial general intelligence an emergent property, and what makes it distinct from human intelligence? How does a biblical view of the philosophy of mind come to bear on answering these questions? How does a distinctly Christian perspective of artificial general intelligence affect our view of it and its possible use cases?
What are the worldviews and assumptions behind machine learning? Does the behavioristic worldview that inspired deep reinforcement learning affect how we as Christians view or use deep reinforcement learning? Is it possible for neural networks to accurately model or simulate the behaviors of the human brain?
What is a biblical understanding of the proper use cases for AI bots? What types of AI bots can we design that may help people better search for theological information or learn a biblical view of a particular topic? What are the similarities between an AI bot that is trained to respond like Jesus and the devotional Jesus Calling? Are either biblically warranted?
What are the distinctly Christian foundations for STEM disciplines? What characteristics of the Christian God make each topic within a STEM discipline possible to begin with? How can we apply these Christian foundations to the detailed technical details in each and every course of study?
What are the STEM topics that we can use by biblical analogy to help clear up or solve seemingly thorny questions in theology or philosophy? How can we develop a general method for properly applying this method of biblical analogy?
What is the ideological relationship between transhumanism and transgenderism? Does the same worldview underlie both areas? What is a distinctly biblical view of transhumanism (corrective vs. enhancement vs. replacement), and how does this view affect how we approach transgender issues?
How does a particular eschatological view (premillennial, amillennial, postmillennial) practically affect how we approach developing technology in industry or pursue research in STEM fields? Are there certain products or functions of products that should or should not be developed given a particular eschatological view?
What is a Christian view of probability and uncertainty? How does a distinctly Christian epistemology affect our approach to areas like mathematical modeling, digital twins, and instrument uncertainty? How do we know that these things are true or are accurate representations of reality? How do we apply the notion of correspondence, the attributes of God’s own character like His sovereignty, and human finitude in answering questions like these?
What is a distinctly Christian understanding of limitations in life, particularly in engineering? What aspects of design tradeoffs, optimization, hardware limitations, and coding errors are due to the fall, and what aspects are necessary due to the finiteness of humans and creation? How can we distinguish between sin and finitude, and how can we work to reduce the limitations present in this life due to sin?
What is a distinctly Christian philosophy of science? What biblical assumptions must be true in order for us to do science in the first place? How can we ensure that we implement these biblical assumptions in our scientific methods? What is the epistemology of science – how certain can we be that a particular theory or model is true or accurate?
What is a distinctly Christian perspective on the use cases of blockchain for cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and more?
In many ways, Christian educational institutions today mirror their secular counterparts in the classes that are taught and the research topics they pursue. While there is a body of literature describing a distinctly Christian approach to teaching pedagogy, teaching applications, broad themes, and contentious topics, very little literature addresses how to bring a distinctly Christian approach to detailed course content and research. Consequently, there is a need to develop a philosophy of Christian education and scholarship that applies the Lordship of Jesus Christ to the detailed content of courses, technical research, and everyday jobs. General methods and procedures should be developed for how this application occurs in all disciplines, and more specific methods and procedures should be worked out for each subject area.
What is the difference in purpose, goals, place, and importance between Christian education, campus ministries, Christian study centers, and Christian professional societies? What needs do each type of institution serve? What can each institution learn and implement from the others? What is the difference between Christian education, Christian discipleship, Christian mentorship, and Christian scholarship?
Under what circumstances is Christian education not warranted? In providing practical advice for parents and students, at what point would it be better to attend a secular school than to go to a compromised Christian school?
Is there a need, place, or biblical basis for Christian graduate schools? What would a philosophy of Christian education and philosophy of Christian research look like for masters and PhD programs?
What approaches can we use to ensure that the content of the Christian curriculum is completely integrated with the Christian faith and not simply added on as a periodic reflection throughout the course? Christian integration is far too often implemented as “technical details + Christian perspective.” How can we develop a method of thinking, teaching, and scholarship that makes it impossible to divorce the technical details from the Christian perspective? What is a distinctly Christian philosophy of the technical details?
What is the purpose of Christian engineering education? Is it primarily to prepare students for jobs after graduation, or is it something else? What are the primary worldview assumptions behind engineering education in Christian institutions versus secular R1 schools?
Should Christian schools spend less time on core classes (breadth) and more time educating students in the details of engineering (depth) to keep up with what needs to be known for engineering careers? To maintain breadth of study, will it soon be necessary to add a fifth year of education in technical disciplines? Can Christian universities be considered as academically rigorous as secular institutions when they do not provide the same depth of education or research?
What is a biblical view of STEM in relationship to other disciplines like the humanities? What attitude should researchers, teachers, and workers in each of these areas have towards one another? Does work in STEM disciplines take more time and effort than that in the humanities? (more time in the classroom with labs, more time changing classes to keep up with the fast pace of the field, more grant proposals to submit, more papers to publish, more PhD students to advise, higher expectations on research output, etc.)
What teaching pedagogy principles can we take from the greatest teacher, Jesus, and apply them to methods of teaching STEM classes?
What is the nature of Christian scholarship? How does it distinguish itself from secular scholarship or research beyond considerations of motivation and end goals?
What is the authoritative relationship between special revelation and general revelation? How and when should the Bible be used in Christian scholarship? What are common misconceptions, fallacies, and faulty understandings of this relationship?
Within STEM disciplines, what are common methods or ways in which Christian scholarship and integration can be pursued? How can we better apply the theme of common grace and antithesis in each of these approaches? How can we better apply the Trinitarian unity-diversity theme in answering the problem of the one and the many in each of these approaches?
What are the major themes in the five common approaches to Christian scholarship (covenanter, reformational, reconstructionist, Christian nationalist, and two-kingdom theology)? Which themes are biblical and which are unbiblical? How can we develop a distinctly Christian approach to scholarship that takes the best parts of each of these approaches and applies them to particular disciplines?
Many of the ways in which higher education, both secular and Christian, has been organized and set up has often been according to what is most economical or what maintains the status quo. However, as Christians it is important to come to a distinctly biblical understanding of the structure and policies in higher education. Why do we implement these policies? Are these policies biblical? A solid body of literature should exist that assists administrators in making biblically-supported policies and procedures for their universities. Furthermore, this body of literature should assist Christian professors as they navigate the structure and policies of secular academia. How can a Christian professor navigate these policies in a God-honoring way?
What is the ideal balance of research and teaching at a university? Should there be an equal amount of teaching professors, research professors, and tenure-track professors? What percentage breakdown of the work of tenure-track professors should be dedicated to research, teaching, and service? Should teaching and research professors also have the option to receive tenure? Should there be a large compensation disparity between teaching, research, and tenure-track professors? What are the biblically-based principles used to answer questions like these?
What is a Christian view of the entire funding, motivation, and sociology surrounding the structure of research in the academy today?
Is overhead biblical? If so, how should overhead be ideally distributed? What is the current state of affairs - does the overhead from STEM grants fund all of the research work in the humanities? Should there be an equal amount of grant money available for humanities professors as there is for STEM professors (after normalizing for equipment costs)?
Should research funding be competed for or should each professor be given a particular amount of funding by the university? Is it best for professors to be spending the majority of their time writing grants and annual reports instead of directing or doing research themselves?
What is the best way in which to measure broader impacts and intellectual merit? Are the current measurements appropriate, sufficient, or holistic?
How does a Christian faculty applicant or faculty member navigate institutional DEI in a God-honoring way? What are some biblical tips and guidance for faculty as they incorporate DEI into their faculty applications/interviews, grant proposals, invited conference session proposals, annual reports, tenure applications/interviews, and more? How do they do this in a way that honors God without lying or contradicting their faith?
What are the attributes of the Christian God that make research possible to begin with? How should this shape our approach to research and writing?
What makes a college or university academically rigorous? How do we measure this? How does a Christian university balance depth of study (in competing with secular institutions) with the breadth of study needed to communicate an overarching biblical worldview?
What kinds of research are needed and should be supported on Christian campuses? Is there a need for Christian professors to spend more time researching and writing about broader biblically-based questions within their discipline? Should Christian colleges be so teaching-focused that they lose sight of advancing knowledge in areas that cannot be advanced in secular academia? Should the research topics at Christian universities be identical to those pursued at secular institutions?
What type of doctrinal/confessional subscription is best in Christian colleges and universities? How do the different types of subscription affect/lead to missional fidelity or missional drift? What is a biblical view of academic freedom and how does that relate to which type of subscription is appropriate? What are the differences/similarities between a professor and a deacon/elder/pastor in terms of the type of subscription they are asked to adhere to? What type of subscription should non-academic Christian institutions require their employees to adhere to?
Is tenure in academia biblical? How does the implementation of tenure versus rolling contracts affect the ability of a Christian institution to maintain biblical fidelity or drift missionally? Should there be tenure in other academic-related professions like academic administrators, researchers at government research labs, companies, or think tanks?
Is sabbatical biblical? If so, are what are the biblically-supported ways in which sabbatical is used? How does a biblical view of work affect how we understand sabbatical?
Is retirement biblical? How does a biblical view of work affect how we approach retirement? Should universities provide avenues for older professors and administrators to reduce the amount of work they do without quitting entirely?
What is a distinctly biblical view of compensation in academia? Should compensation be provided primarily from the university, from donors, from grants, or from somewhere else? Should professors be compensated equally across all disciplines? Should the work of undergraduate and graduate research students be included in that compensation, and if so, should those students be spread equally across all disciplines?
What are the biblically-based factors and priorities that students should consider when choosing a college? How can a Christian university make sure that they are implementing these biblically-based priorities? How does a Christian university measure that they have met these objectives? What kinds of measurements are uniquely Christian, beyond the standard measurements and objectives of secular institutions?